This week was my first week working as a Veterinarians Assistant at Pittsburgh East Animal Hospital! I got to work with Dr. Pope, Dr. Abt, and Dr. Dinger rotating between the Monroeville and Greensburg office.

I got to work on a dog dental with Dr. Pope. Using the knowledge of my Veterinary Medical Terminology course through Juniata, thankfully I already knew how to study a dental chart. After probing and cleaning all of the dogs teeth, I noticed that its 3o4 premolar was cracked, and needed to be extracted. Dr. Pope showed me how to drill a hole in the gums, extract the root of the tooth, and suture the gum back together. I even got to practice suturing.

We also performed a Bulla Osteotomy to remove a polyp in the ear canal of a cat this week, with a total ear canal reconstruction and implantation of a drainage tube into the chest cavity! I took pictures of and with the polyp below!

Oh, how I love surgery! It has been an honor to learn surgery alongside Dr. John Pope. This week he had me scrub in and assist during a spay and a gastropexy. In a spay, we remove the uterus. In a gastropexy, we suture the stomach to the body wall to prevent a flipped stomach. I learned how to assist during both procedures by holding organs out of the surgeons way, running suture, and holding hemostats. 

When I was not scrubbed in, the technicians were showing me better techniques to "become sterile" in preparation for future procedures. They showed me how to wash my hands, put on a surgical gown, gloves, and move around a surgery room so as not to contaminate our instruments or patient. 

My cat from the Bulla Osteotomy from last week came back and we removed her chest drainage tube. The ear canal looks clean and healthy now! She is recovering well!

This week we performed eight new kitten exams! We checked their overall condition, weight, ears, eyes, and range of motion. We dewormed all of the kittens, and performed FIV/FELV tests on them. Finally we vaccinated all of the kittens for rabies and feline distemper!

This week we had an interesting surgical patient. A puppy from an abuse situation was brought to the hospital by animal control. He  presented with a distended stomach and low muscle quality. He weighed 27 pounds. After taking a radiograph, Dr. Pope decided we needed to perform emergency abdominal exploratory surgery. Once in surgery, we discovered that the puppy had an intussusception. We removed a foot of bowel and sutured the healthy intestines back together. After, Dr. Pope wished to drain fluid from the stomach using suction. However, once inside, we discoverd a foreign body in the stomach which looked like a towl or a mop head. After removing the foreign body, we closed the stomach and then the abdomen. After surgery the puppy weighed 20 pounds.

A few hours after finishing surgery, the puppy was standing and wagging his tail. 

"How is he able to stand? How is he recovering so quickly? This dog is a fighter!" Dr. Pope said. 

I realised that Dr. Pope was right and nobody would know how the puppy was fighting to live on, so I named him Howie. I brought Howie home every night for the rest of the week for IV fluids, antibiotics, pain medication, and monitoring. He has continued to come home with me while the legalities of his case are reviewed. 

This week, Howie began to heal and met many friends. He was socialized at the front desk by incoming patients and clients. His siblings also paid us a visit to get their vaccines and make appointments to be spayed and neutered. Howie continued to pass consistent stool, which proves the surgery's success. I continued to monitor him this week and we did everything together. He came home with me, to work with me, to the gym, and the store with me.

Quick break from the Howie chronicles, even though I know thats what you've been waiting for! This week I got to assist during an acl repair surgery. It was a great opportunity to learn how to prepare an extremety for surgery, use the drill, and identify ligaments in the body. 

Okay! Back to Howie! He has continued to do everything with me for monitoring. His incision is almost completely healed. He is starting to become more active, even playing with my other dog, Boomer. Looking like a real puppy!

This week was very uneventful with a lot of routine physical exams, spays, and neuters. I got great practice at wrapping surgical packs, gowns, and drapes, and using the autoclave to sterilize everything!

This week has been full of exams. The shelter staff returned his tag to me, which I put on my key ring. It is a daily reminder that this dream of becoming a caretaker for animals is achievable and rewarding. He will be coming in to the office in two weeks for vaccine boosters and to be neutered. I cannot wait to update you at that time!

This week we had many wellness exams, including this one with the adorable Maggie Mae. 

This week was a whirlwind. To begin, I saw a yorkie who had a completely matted foot, who came in because she was lethargic. After removing the mat, we discovered an extremely big tumor which had altered the anatomy of the dog's foot, pushing on the bones of the middle two toes. We ended up having to euthanize the dog, but it was a great learning experience to see something like this. 

I also thought I would get to see Howie this week for his neuter, but  his new adopted owners forgot to fast him before surgery. This caused us to have to reschedule. Fasting is important prior to surgery because anesthesia induces nausea and they can puke and aspirate while unconscious.

This week I was not in surgery at all and did lots of wellness exams. They were mostly routine. 

I did my official interview for a seat at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine over zoom. I thought it went well because my interviewer was very easy to talk to. I look forward to hearing back from them about their decision in 2-6 weeks!

I also began house sitting for my boss this week! For the next ten days, I will be staying at his house and taking care of his two dogs and five cats. All of the animals are so sweet. 

This was my last week at the hospitals. I was in surgery one day this week with Dr. Abt and she was amazing to watch. She was quick, efficient, and a strong surgeon and I definitely learned a lot from her. 

My coworkers took me out to dinner on Thursday to celebrate my last days. They have been so good to me. They even got me a going away present which was a giraffe tracking bracelet. My giraffe's name is Idol. She has been so busy running all around Africa with her giraffe friends!

I got a call this morning that I was accepted to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine this morning. I am going to be a doctor!!! This school has been a dream of mine since I was a freshman in college, and my dream is coming true! I am still waiting to hear back from a few more schools before making my decision, but it is so exciting to know that I am going to be a part of the Veterinary community in the future! I could not have made this dream come true without the support of my mother, the staff at Pittsburgh East, and all the doctors and professors along the way who took the time to develop me into a well rounded student. I also want to thank the individuals who supported me through Super Internship funding by helping me develop my resume for the past two years. If you are reading this, you too have contributed to making my dreams come true, thank you.